Commuter chaos at Rome's Fiumicino airport

Only about 50 per cent of flights are operating to and from Rome's Fiumicino airport on Friday 8 May, the day after a major fire gutted a section of Terminal 3, which is used for international flights.

All airlines are working at a reduced capacity as the airport tries to deal with the backlog of passengers whose flights were cancelled due to the fire in the early hours of Thursday 7 May.

Carriers are attempting to re-route as many passengers as possible through other terminals, while Italy's civil aviation agency ENAC advised passengers to contact airlines for information about their flights.

What remains of Terminal 3

The shopping area in the airport's third terminal, including boutiques and duty free outlets, was completely destroyed in the fire which is believed to have been triggered by an electrical fault in a bar.

The incident and the resulting passenger chaos have led to some Italian politicians questioning whether Rome is adequately prepared to deal with the influx of pilgrims expected for the Vatican's upcoming Jubilee year.

Channels & Business - WIR

Hi!

You are about to activate Wanted in Rome's Facebook Messenger news feed. Once subscribed, the feed will send you a digest of trending stories once a week. You can also customize the types of stories we send you.

Click on the button below to subscribe and wait for a new Facebook message from the Wanted in Rome Messenger news team.